Sparking the hybrid and electric car conversation with customers

We’ve have the pleasure of working with our ADESA marketing intern, Josh Combs, this summer. He interviewed two ADESA employees about owning electric and hybrid vehicles to give some insight to dealers on what drivers are saying about their experience. Here’s what he found out.

During the past decade, car companies have made it their mission to develop fuel-efficient vehicles that offer both style and comfort, while still catering to the needs of consumers. As a result, electric and hybrid cars have become widely recognized as great alternatives to the gas-guzzling vehicles that many of consumers drive today. While often priced at a premium, hybrids and EVs offer an eco-friendly way to commute from one destination to the other. Moreover, they help keep some extra money in your pocket while at the gas pump.

This increasing demand for fuel-efficient vehicles has created a new category of car buyers. In fact, fuel economy is now the second-most important consideration in most new car purchases, directly behind the overall price of the vehicle. For car dealers, this offers new opportunities to have conversations with potential car buyers about fuel efficiency and how it impacts their lifestyle.

To help arm dealers with a few thought-provoking ideas that might help move hybrids and EVs off their lot, we asked two employees a few questions to help us better understand why they enjoy driving fuel-efficient cars. While fuel economy was definitely a key part of our conversations, our two interviewees also provided some additional insight into why they love their new rides.

Clarity regarding fuel consumption

Sandy, a Toyota Prius driver and manager of marketing services at ADESA, enjoys spending less time at the gas station as well as the extra savings it brings her. One of her favorite features is the dashboard display, which allows Sandy to see her fuel consumption. This enables her to adjust her driving style to gain top-quality performance. With that said, she did explain the difficulty of a battery replacement due to the fact that it is different than most vehicles on the road today.

Lower maintenance costs

Abraham, an application lead developer for ADESA’s subsidiary company, AutoVIN, is the proud owner of the 2012 Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is a 100-percent electric vehicle and is one of the few zero-emission cars on the road today. It charges in 4-5 hours and can travel a distance of 60-100 miles on a full charge. Abraham noted that maintenance is rarely needed and other than a tire rotation, there is no need to take it into the shop until it hits 100,000 miles. The shortage in miles per charge is a slight downfall, but the Nissan Leaf comes with an app for your phone so that you can monitor your usage, as well and warm up or cool down your car before you even get in it.

Asking the right questions

While there are many benefits to owning a hybrid or EV, including the examples given by our employees, it’s important to ask questions about the potential customers wants and needs in a new vehicle before suggesting an EV or hybrid. Getting to know that individual customer will help lead to more sales and an overall higher customer satisfaction rate.